


Life After the Blight

by zeusfluff



Series: Shifting Realities [6]
Category: Fringe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-07
Updated: 2016-01-07
Packaged: 2018-05-12 08:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5660449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeusfluff/pseuds/zeusfluff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grandma? What was the world like when you were young? A little girl with green eyes asks. Things were different now, I wasn’t the tough FBI agent I was 35 years ago. *Sixth installment in the Shifting Realities series.*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Do not own any of the Fringe characters. But I do own a few original ones.

November 2nd, 2048 

Twenty miles outside the former city of Boston

“Grandma? What was the world like when you were young?” 

A little girl with green eyes and brown hair asked me as she sat in a 

rocking chair with me in our run-down living room. I had to scratch 

my head and think on that a moment. I shifted to get comfortable 

again. 

"Well Hallie, the world was a different place when I was young. For 

one, we had green trees and fresh running water. And your 

grandfather was a much more dashing man than he is now..."

Man in the background:

"I heard that 'Livia don't start that again..."

I shook my head and laughed a little. I cleared my throat and 

continued my story.

"Anyways, I helped a lot of people. I saved lives. The world got 

worse as time went on. By the time I was ready to have your 

mommy, the world was falling apart. Everyone had become very 

mean to each other. They started fighting over food. The world 

became a scary place. And now when I look at it, it’s starting to 

bloom again... I never thought I'd see that in my lifetime..."

Hallie look up into my eyes curiously.

“And how old were you when you had my mommy?”

It was so long ago now... She was making me think a lot... I've 

forgotten a lot of things in my old age. This was one of them.

“I was 34 years old when I had your mommy and your uncle Pete. 

I'm 65 years old now. I'd never thought I'd live to see the day the 

world began to bloom again...”

I slowly set Hallie down on the ground and got up. My bones 

crackled under the strain of standing up. Olivia you are getting 

weak in your old age. Hallie pulled me by the hand towards the 

kitchen. Chocolate cocoa was a rare commodity these days, and 

sugar and every other spice were even rarer. I found Peter making 

some at the kitchen counter. Hallie’s eyes lit up as she watched Peter 

mix the precious cocoa with boiled water. Peter handed her the mug 

of cocoa and she was about to drink from it, but Peter stopped her.

“Hallie be careful, that’s very hot. Let it cool for a little while ok 

sweetheart?”

I smiled at Peter; he’d taken his nickname for me and given it to 

Hallie. I remember he’d been so proud the day Hallie was born. We 

took our hot cocoa back to the living room and Hallie stretched out 

on the old worn out couch. I glanced over at the clock on the mantle; 

it was nearly 9:00. It was getting late.

“Hallie sweetie, are you sure you want to hear the story tonight? It’s 

getting awfully late and your mommy would be upset with me if she 

knew you were still awake.”

Hallie yawned but kept her eyes open and nodded her head, 

snuggling under the down comforters on the couch. 

“Yes grandma, I wanna hear how you and grandpa met. Please?”

I only laughed a little and watched as she closed her eyes listening to 

my soft voice as I began my story.

“... A long time ago, there was once a tough FBI agent who didn’t let 

anyone get in her way. She went on a long journey very far away to 

find a man that would save another she had fallen in love with that 

was very sick...”

I stopped from starting my next sentence when I saw Hallie was fast 

asleep. I smiled warmly at her and tucked the blanket more around 

her. It was going to be cold tonight and the cracks in the house didn’t 

help any keeping it warm. The fireplace was full of wood and 

burning a nice warm fire, but we’d need to change it soon. The past 

30 years have been hard in this wasteland, but we’ve managed to 

raise happy children, though not always healthy.

To Be Continued...


	2. World of Drought

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Fringe characters. But I do own a few original ones.

November 3rd, 2048

Its grown cold since midnight, Hallie had since come upstairs and 

was snuggling between Peter and I. Most of the rooms were so 

drafty. It's grown worse in the last 35 years. Snow never fell 

anymore, and everything was like a desert. Extremely hot during the 

day, and freezing at night. 

Sometimes I worry about Hallie, I mean Lily gave birth to a perfectly 

healthy little girl, but the clothes we have are threadbare, it's barely 

enough to keep us warm at night... She's turned into a wonderful 

little girl, four years old and so full of life. Though we don't have 

much to offer her, she imagines what the world was like before all 

this happened. 

She drew me a picture the other day of what Boston would look like 

if it had trees again. I worried about the rest of my family; I worried 

about Emily, Lily, Pete and Charley. But it was Ella I was most 

worried about. She'd been the last one to get married, to a man 

named Eric who adored her and waited on her every want and need. 

I just didn't like the thought of her bringing her daughter into this 

world that had little life to offer. 

Noise from outside startled me, only to realize it was just a tree 

branch. It got so windy at night. That's where the cold drafts came 

from... I'd have to ask Peter if we could find some way to insulate 

the house in the morning... 35 years of drought, and not a single 

drop of rain... Would the world ever be green again? Hallie shifted in 

the bed a little and opened her eyes, looking at me.

“Grandma, I’m cold. Another blankie please.”

I slowly got out of bed and went over to the closet and pulled out the 

comforter that had once been Lily’s. I traced the patterns on it. I’d 

made it for her when she was about Hallie’s age. I smiled at the 

thought of covering Hallie with the handmade blanket made me 

remember covering Lily with it. I remembered her words as I 

wrapped it around her on a particularly cold night. 

“It’s so pretty and soft mommy. I like it, it’s warm.”

As I covered Hallie with the blanket, she smiled at me, and lie back 

down on the pillow next to me. I pulled the five blankets over the 

two of us and snuggled under them. Smiling, I fell asleep once more. 

When I woke again, it was still dark out. Looking at the ancient 

clock on the nightstand, I noticed it was only: 4:15 a.m. The banging 

on the front door downstairs is what must have woken me up. Hallie 

only stirred a little and got closer to Peter as I covered her back up. 

Padding slowly down the stairs, I peeked through the peep hole in 

the door. Finding that it was Ella and Eric, I quickly opened up the 

door. Ella was shivering through her thin jacket she had on. Eric 

ushered her inside the house and I closed the front door, closing it 

tight and replacing the two by four up against the handle after locking 

it. I ushered her towards the stairs, but she only looked at me with 

scared eyes.

“Aunt Liv I’m going to quote you from when I was ten: ‘I can't 

climb these stairs. There are too many of them and that seals my 

fate of me going into labor early.’ I remember when you told Uncle 

Peter those words, and then he was a complete gentleman and 

carried you up the stairs to the bed in that convenience store 

remember?”

I nodded my head and watched as Eric scooped Ella up into his 

arms, carrying her up the flight of stairs. The spare room was best 

and it had a fire already going in there to keep the upstairs semi-

heated. When Eric set Ella on the bed and under the covers once 

he’d gotten her shoes and jacket off, he looked at me and spoke.

“I’m sorry we barged in on you and Peter at such an ungodly hour 

of the night but Ella was worried she wouldn’t see you again. She 

wouldn’t tell me how or why, just that she had to see you and that it 

couldn’t wait. What she really needs right now is something to relax 

her. Do you have any tea?”

I nodded my head going out of the room and got a cup of warm tea 

from the pot sitting on the night table next to the bed. Handing it to 

Ella and watching her drink it, I smiled. 

“Is that better baby girl? Tea always seemed to help you sleep when 

you were afraid or worried. Now what’s wrong? Is it the baby?”

Ella shook her head no and placed her hand over her swelling 

abdomen, smiling at me all the while.

“The baby’s fine Aunt Liv. It’s you I was worried about. I dreamed 

that something happened to you in your sleep...”

I watched Ella’s facial expression for a moment. She turned her gaze 

up to Eric and I found that she had fear in her eyes. She started to 

cry. 

“Oh no! This is really bad timing! My water just broke!”

I looked closely at Ella and brushed my hand up against her forehead 

removing the hair from her forehead. 

“It’ll be ok sweetie. I’ll stay with you while Eric goes and finds a 

doctor for you. I’ll have Uncle Peter boil some pots of hot water for 

you. Just try and relax. This is the miracle of life. I’m right here. I 

promise I won’t leave you alone. Just like I promised when you were 

little, that you’d always be safe and I’d always take care of you.”

Ella smiled at me, but it soon disappeared as a contraction presented 

itself. She grabbed for my hand and squeezed it tight. 

“I’m trying to be brave, but it really hurts! Where’s the doctor? 

Maybe he can bring me something for the pain! Ah! You know I 

have a low tolerance to pain!”

I wiped the sweat from her forehead and kissed her forehead. I 

knew she was having a hard time right now, but her daughter would 

be born safely. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. By now, it had 

been nearly an hour and there was still no doctor. Where’s Eric? 

Peter had come into the room with the buckets of hot water, holding 

the handles with cloths to protect himself from being burned. 

“Here’s some hot water Liv. How are you doing Ella? You hanging 

in there alright? I know you think this is taking a thousand years but, 

you will have a wonderful little miracle in your arms when this is all 

finished.”

Ella nodded her head at Peter and plopped her head back down on 

the pillow on the bed. I shook her shoulder when I saw her begin to 

close her eyes. Now was not the time for her to be sleeping. 

“Ella sweetie, I know you’re tired, but it’s not time to sleep right 

now. You need to stay awake. Think of your daughter. You’ll be 

able to hold her in your arms soon. Breathe in through your nose and 

out through your mouth. That’s it. Just relax.”

I kept my hold on Ella’s hand as Peter came back with another set 

of hot water buckets. I sat down in the chair next to the bed and held 

her hand. 

“Aunt Liv? Can you tell me the story about when Charley was born 

again? I haven’t heard that story in awhile. How did you keep so 

calm?”

I smiled remembering the day Charley was born. It hadn’t been that 

difficult after the doctor came anyway. 

“Well, the doctor coached me through most of it. But having gone 

through the birth of three children already, I knew that having 

Charley would be much simpler. Six hours of labor, and I hadn’t had 

any pain meds. Charley was a miracle. I won’t lie, the contractions 

were bad over the 12 and a half hours I was in labor with him. But 

the delivery was somewhat simple. I only had to push three times 

and he came out so easily. He never cried once when the doctor 

placed him in my arms. He opened his eyes and stared straight at 

me. He had his father’s smile, but my green eyes. He was relatively 

calm, as if this brave new world didn’t scare him at all.”

I saw Ella relax a little as I finished my story. She smiled tiredly at 

me. Peter sat in the chair next to the bed and stroked her forehead 

with his left hand. I had moved to a chair off to the side of him and 

kept my hand wrapped around hers. I watched her expression 

change again to frightened. 

“Aunt Liv, please help me! This one really hurts! Please help me!”

I squeezed her hand and listened to her short gasps for breath. She 

was forgetting to breathe. I nodded my head and stroked her 

forehead a little.

“Shh. It’s ok baby girl. Just try and relax. Breathe in through your 

nose and out through your mouth. That’s my girl. Uncle Peter and I 

are right here. We promise we won’t leave you. We’re right here.”

Peter and I both turned out attention to the door when Eric arrived 

with a doctor. Ella only smiled and leaned back on her pillow. 

“Eric, what took you so long? I felt like I’ve been in labor for days.”

Peter saw Hallie rubbing her eyes out in the hallway and then her 

eyes grew wide when she saw Ella. Peter picked her up and shut the 

door behind him. Momentarily, I watched as the doctor began to roll 

up his sleeves. He then turned to me and gave me a smile.

“You must be Olivia. I’m Doctor Carrington. I’m glad Eric found me 

when he did. The clinic is too far for Ella to trek to. Have you got 

lots of hot water?”

I nodded my head and gestured towards the buckets of steaming 

water. Ella gripped onto my hand tighter still. Eric whispered in my 

ear suddenly.

“We have quite a few visitors downstairs. Lily, Pete, Emily and 

Charley are all here. I went and got them while I was out looking for 

Doctor Carrington.”

Now my whole family was here. All that was missing was Walter 

and Rachel. Rachel had passed on long ago, and Walter never got to 

see the birth of his great-granddaughter Hallie. He’d passed away at 

the ripe old age of 97. I knew Peter missed him sometimes, and 

especially this time of year. Ella brought me out of my thoughts 

when she squeezed my hand tightly. I could clearly hear Doctor 

Carrington speaking.

“You’re doing just fine Ella. One more push and we’ll be done. Just 

give me one more big push for me. That’s it. One more. One more 

for me. And... It’s a girl!”

Ella plopped her head down on the pillow and sighed in relief. The 

baby’s crying was a relief to hear. It’s been quite a while since I’ve 

heard a baby cry in this house. This was a happy day. I could hear 

Peter downstairs talking to the rest of the kids.

“It’s a girl! Ella had a girl!”

I could hear both laughing and crying coming from downstairs. I 

turned to Ella and smiled at the tiny baby in her arms. Eric smiled 

proudly at Ella. He was now a proud father. 

“So, what are you going to name her Ella?”

Ella looked down at the baby in her arms and looked up at me. She 

had tears in her eyes. I smiled back and kissed her forehead, then 

place a small kiss on the baby in her arms.

“Olivia. After you Aunt Liv. I name her after you because you are 

the strongest woman I’ve ever known. I’m proud to call you my 

aunt.”

Peter had come into the room with the rest of the family. Ella smiled 

at all four of her cousins and held Olivia up slightly so that they 

could get a good look at her.

“Everyone, I’d like you to meet the newest member to our family, 

Olivia Marie Dunham-Carlington. Say hi Olivia.”

Ella made a waving motion with Olivia’s hand and everyone just 

smiled with tears in their eyes. Today had been a bright spot in this 

dying world.

To Be Continued...


	3. Unbearable Days

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Fringe characters. But I do own a few original ones.

November 3rd, 2048 11:30 a.m.

The fans in the house were going, but nothing could keep the 

scorching heat out of the house. I could hear the baby crying 

upstairs. Ella though she's still recovering from having Olivia, I know 

it’s more unbearable now that the heats come... I made my way up 

the stairs, and quietly knocked on the door to the spare room. 

 

“Come in.”

 

Ella smiled at me but was in tears as she could do nothing to soothe 

Olivia's crying form. 

“Aunt Liv, I don't know what to do! I've tried feeding her, she won't 

eat, she just keeps screaming.”

 

I took Olivia carefully into my arms and rocked her a little. For a 

moment, she stopped but then started up again. I put my hand up to 

her forehead. I could practically feel the heat coming off her.

“Ella she's burning up! I'll get your Uncle Peter to find some ice for 

her.”

I took Olivia out of the room and brought her down the stairs. Peter 

was in the kitchen trying his hardest to fix the fan. It’d broken down 

again... He looked at me seriously when he saw me holding onto a 

screaming Olivia. 

“What is it ‘Livia? Why is she screaming like that?”

It took a moment for Peter to realize what was going on with Olivia. 

He took her into his arms and placed a small cool cloth over her 

forehead. She began to whine, but her crying seemed to stop. At this 

rate we could get her cool again using cool rags or wash cloths. We 

had to keep things sealed because most stuff here had become moth-

eaten. Though it had been years since Peter held one of our children, 

the father in him always came out anyways. 

“See, isn’t that better honey? Let’s take you back to your mother.”

I followed Peter up the stairs and entered Ella’s room. She was 

drying her eyes with the last box of tissues we had. He carefully 

placed Olive into Ella’s arms and she seemed to calm even more. 

The look on Ella’s face told me the heat was getting to her.

“Aunt Liv, is the fan downstairs fixed yet? I feel like I’m in a sauna. 

The sweat is just dripping. This is disgusting. How am I supposed to 

keep Olivia cool in this searing heat?”

I placed a kiss on Ella’s forehead and watched as she looked at 

Olive’s flailing form. I pushed Peter out of the room, closing the 

door. I sat on the edge of the bed and watched as Ella fed Olive. She 

played with her tiny fingers as she watched Olivia eat. Such an 

amazing and tiny miracle born into this wasteland we once called 

Boston... I could tell Ella was nodding off. Her eyes were closing. 

Olive made desperate noises to get her mother’s attention. She was 

still hungry. I gently shook Ella’s shoulder to wake her.

“Ella, wake up baby girl. Olive’s still hungry. I know you’re tired, 

but she’s still hungry. Just a little longer. Uncle Peter’s almost done 

fixing the fan downstairs. Once he’s done that, he’ll fix this one too, 

and we’ll get some air circulating through this house again.”

Ella looked at me as if she were about to whine. Her husband Eric 

stood next to her and watched Olive momentarily. 

“But Aunt Liv, it’s so hot and I’m really tired.”

I nodded my head and helped her reposition Olivia back towards her 

chest and looked and listened while she suckled. 

“I know you’re tired, we’re all tired, but I don’t want you to sleep 

until Uncle Peter fixes the fan in here. Then you can sleep. How do 

you feel?”

Ella yawned, it was evident that was very worn out. I knew what it 

was like, and I’d given birth to four children. I’d never told anyone 

this, but Emily was a twin. Her brother died a month before birth. 

Adán was a small and frail little boy who was born with Sharp’s 

Syndrome. Stage four. His skin had been a strange color, and the 

bruising all over his body suggested he’d had Sharp’s Syndrome for 

awhile while he was inside my womb. Though even after all these 

years it was still fuzzy on how I delivered him. Peter and I hadn’t 

known we were having a set of twins... He was just as much a 

surprise as Lily and Pete were.   
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Grandma? Can you finish telling me the story about how you and 

grandpa met?”

I smiled at Hallie, and tucked the heavy comforter around her more 

to seal the heat in from the cool air that filled the room. Peter had 

gone to place more wood into the fireplace in the next room. Nights 

were always so cold. Colder than the winters I’d remembered from 

when I was little. 

“Ok, so the young woman had to go to a far off land and find a man 

who could help her. She begged this man to come back to Boston 

and help her...”

Hallie smiled up at me and interrupted.

“Grandpa!”

I smiled back and cleared my throat. Hallie snuggled under the 

blankets more as I continued the story. 

“Yes, grandpa. So grandpa came back with me. With the help of 

grandpa, great-grandpa Walter and great-aunt Astrid, they were able 

to cure the man who the young woman loved with all her heart. But 

she didn’t know that he was mean until it was too late. Sometime 

later, he passed away. The FBI agent and the man, grew closer 

together and they investigated weird things that happened. Just as the 

woman and the man grew closer together, the man found out that he 

was from another world, one just like this one, but slightly different. 

So the man ran away. And then the man was taken away from the 

woman. He was taken to that other world, the one just like this. 

With the help of great-grandpa and some others, they were able to 

cross over. They found the man they were looking for and the 

woman saw herself. She could’ve passed as her twin sister. When 

great-grandpa and the man returned to our world, they didn’t know 

that they did not bring back the right woman, they brought back her 

‘twin’. Meanwhile, the woman from this world was trapped on the 

other side...”

Hallie’s eyes grew wide as I continued. Her small mouth formed a 

large ‘O’ and she watched me with curiosity. 

“And then what happened grandma? What happened to the lady? 

Did she come back?”

I nodded my head yes though sadly. It was one of those things I 

hadn’t even remotely thought about for years. It’d been years since 

I’d thought about her. I smiled at Hallie and continued.

“The woman did come back. You see, she had special powers to 

help her come back to this world. But when she came back, 

everything she knew was different. Even the man she had fallen in 

love with, didn’t realize she was gone. The man and the woman 

grew apart for awhile because he’d fallen in love with her ‘twin’. 

Eventually her ‘twin’ went back to the other world and after a long 

while the man and the woman slowly started to get closer again. And 

after a couple of years, they married. Then they had a daughter 

named Emily...”

Hallie smiled at me with the biggest smile she’d given me in awhile. 

“Aunt Emily!”

 

I smiled as she snuggled under the covers closing her eyes. The rest 

of the story would have to wait until tomorrow. So I kissed her on 

the forehead and tucked her in some more. Peter came back into the 

room and sat on the bed momentarily, stroking Hallie’s hair away 

from her face. He kissed her good night and walked out of the room 

with me. The floor was freezing against my bare feet, but I 

managed. 

“She loves hearing you tell her stories of when we were young. She 

sees you as a hero Liv. Tomorrow I’d like to place some flowers on 

Adán’s grave marker. It’s been awhile since we’ve given him 

flowers.”

I smiled at Peter and snuggled in the bed with him, taking off my 

glasses. Setting them gently down on the worn down table I closed 

my eyes. Even after 35 years in this place, Peter and I have stayed 

strong. 

To Be Continued...


	4. Charley’s Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Fringe characters. But I do own a few original ones.

November 6th, 2048 8:30 a.m.

The house was still surprisingly cool for being 8:30 in morning. I'd 

gotten up fairly early to make sure the fires in all the fireplaces hadn't 

gone out. I heard a noise coming from one of the spare rooms 

suddenly, and even though it’s been years since I was in the FBI, my 

instincts kicked in and I cautiously went towards the room where the 

noise was coming from. Slowly opening up the door, I found Hallie 

looking through a trunk with what very few possessions we'd 

managed to find when the house fell so many years ago in Boston... 

I found her looking through a worn green passport. The gold 

embossed print faded but still readable. She turned to me and smiled, 

but a question was on her lips.

"Grandma? What is this book thingy for? And why is Uncle 

Charley's face on it? It says he was born in Mexico. Where's that?"

I smiled at Hallie and sat down next to her on the couch covered in a 

faded out sheet. 

"Well when people started becoming mean here, we had to move 

away from Boston. We moved to Mexico. Mexico is a big country 

below Texas. You know where Texas is right?"

Hallie nodded her head and looked at me with big green eyes.

 

"Is that why my middle name is Elisabeta? And yes I remember, 

grandpa showed me a map the other day. How come Uncle Charley 

was born in Mexico grandma?"

Lily had chosen Hallie's middle name, though she'd been too young 

to remember her life in Mexico. Nodding my head at her once more 

I told her what was the beginning of all the chaos.

“We lived in Mexico for 5 years. Your Aunt Ella was 15 when we 

came back to Boston. Uncle Charley was born in Mexico because 

Aunt Ella and I were separated from grandpa. We weren't able to get 

back up to the United States easily."

Hallie's mannerisms reminded me a lot of Emily while she was 

growing up. 

"How come you couldn't go with grandpa?"

That was an even harder thing to explain to a 4 year old... I 

swallowed momentarily.

“We uh, we got separated... The soldiers wouldn’t let us through 

because we didn’t have this green book, only ours were blue. Great 

grandpa and grandpa got onto the big bright green bus with Aunt 

Emily, your mommy and Uncle. Grandma cried for a long time 

when she was separated from grandpa. Aunt Ella and grandma 

stayed in a small hotel, it was hard being away from grandpa. And 

that’s where Uncle Charley was born. It took Aunt Ella and I a 

couple of months before we could come back up here to the states. 

We got into a really fast truck with a lot of other people and we 

ended up in the desert. Much like where we live. Are there anymore 

questions about Uncle Charley?”

I watched as Hallie shook her head no and went back to looking 

through the old worn-out trunk in front of her. She picked up a 

onesie from the trunk and held it up. She giggled and looked at me.

“Was this Uncle Charley’s too grandma? It’s so little! It can fit on 

my dolls!”

I smiled at Hallie and smoothed the hair back from her face. Such 

fine long black curls she had. Both Lily and Liam had dark brown 

hair, but Liam’s grandmother had black flowing hair. But she was 

also Cherokee. There was a knock on the spare room door and I 

turned to find Pete in the doorway. He still looked like his father. 

“Uncle Pete! It’s you! Where’s Uncle Charley? Didn’t you bring him 

with you?”

Her innocence was something I envied. I’d never had the chance to 

enjoy that when I was her age. It’s maybe why I’m so protective of 

her and spend as much time with her as I can. He caught her and put 

her down when she jumped into his arms. He began to cough a little. 

“This cough never seems to go away.” 

I quickly grabbed Hallie out of Pete’s arms and set her down behind 

me. She wasn’t sure what was going on. 

“Pete, you should go to the doctor. You might have TB. I don’t 

want you to give it to the little kids or the baby.”

Pete nodded his head and walked out of the room. I felt Hallie tug 

on my dress behind me as Pete walked out of the room.

“Grandma? What’s TB?”

I was lucky none of my other children had it while growing up. I 

smiled down at her and knelt next to her.

“Tuberculosis. It’s where you cough and it sounds like you have the 

flu.”

Hallie’s eyes widened and her mouth formed an ‘O’. She started to 

cry suddenly. Big fat tears rolled down her face.

“Grandma? Does that mean Uncle Pete is gonna die?”

I lifted her up into my arms and gave her a big hug. I took her out of 

the room and down the stairs. She kept crying. Setting her down at 

the kitchen table I wiped the tears from her eyes.

“Hallie sweetheart, Uncle Pete is going to be just fine. There is a 

doctor that’s going to make him all better. I promise he’ll be just 

fine.”

She stopped crying and smiled at me.

“Grandma? Can we make pancakes?”

I smiled at Hallie as I got the mix from the cupboard. She carefully 

got the eggs from the fridge and placed them onto the counter. She 

sat at the bar on the stool while I flipped the pancakes. When the 

pancakes were all finished cooking and were cooling on a plate, I 

turned to find that she had pancake mix on her nose. As the two of 

us enjoyed a plate of pancakes each, she asked me another question.

“Grandma? Can you tell me another story from when you were 

young?”

I smiled and kissed her forehead. I nodded my head and began the 

next story of my past.

“Well a long, long time ago when your aunt Ella was seven we went 

to an amusement park that used to be in Boston. She loved cotton 

candy...”

These were the moments I’d come to appreciate. My family was 

together and that was all that mattered. 

To Be Continued...


	5. High Desert and Long Trek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Fringe characters. But I do own a few original ones.

November 8th, 2048, 9:30 a.m.

25 miles outside the former city of Boston

Peter and I had begun our trek to Boston’s inner city a couple of 

hours prior and we were still walking. We kept well covered to 

protect our skin from the powerful radiating sun above our heads. 

We’d brought plenty of water with us to keep hydrated. Everything 

around us was a high desert, and the trek to the middle of Boston 

would be very long. We’d buy whatever kind of flowers we could 

find when we got there, knowing very well that the flowers would 

wilt long before we’d ever reach Adán’s grave marker. I struck up a 

conversation with Peter about our four beautiful children, starting 

with Emily.

“Peter, do you remember the day Emily was born?”

Peter smiled as we kept walking. My smile grew as I remembered 

every detail of the event. 

“Of course I do sweetheart. It was a wonderful day. Emily was 

perfect when she came out of you. Her cries were the most beautiful 

sounds I’d ever heard in my life.”

I gave Peter a small smile continuing our trek towards Boston. It 

seemed like a very long way towards Boston than I’d originally 

thought. The heat was starting to get to me. With no trees to afford 

us any kind of protection from the sun, Peter and I were literally 

helpless, being exposed to the sun’s harmful rays. I was starting to 

trip, twisted branches beginning to cut into my shoes. The two of us 

weren’t as young as we used to be. He helped me up as best he 

could, though the heat was clearly getting to him too. The last thing I 

saw before the darkness took hold of me was a truck on the horizon. 

Then the blackness took hold of me and I saw no more.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The first thing that registered was my thoughts, and a cool cloth to 

my forehead. My lips were so parched and my body cried out for 

water. Before I had the chance to open up my eyes, a glass was 

being brought to my lips.

“Here, drink this.”

A hand helped lift my head up and I felt myself drinking the glass of 

cool water offered to me. The disembodied voice spoke once more.

“Take it easy. That’s it. Take your time.”

Slowly and carefully, I opened up my eyes and found that I was in 

what were the remains of Boston General. Ironically the same room 

in which I’d given birth to Emily 36 years earlier. Memories were 

fragmented and scattered. But a lone plastic basinet brought back the 

experience as clear as day. So many children were lost here when 

the shape shifters came. I turned my head a little and caught a 

glimpse of Peter on a small cot next to me. I reached over with one 

of my hands and took one of his. He stirred momentarily and opened 

his eyes, taking a look around before turned his gaze towards me.

“‘Livia, your ok. Where are we?”

His voice was barely above a whisper. I had to strain to hear him. I 

smiled at him with a knowing look in my eyes. 

“Take a good look around you Peter. Don’t you remember? This is 

where your first born came into the world 36 long years ago. I 

remember 21 inches long, 8 pounds and 6 ounces... The day 

couldn’t have been more perfect. But now look at this place? So 

many children were lost here Peter, because of the shape shifters. 

No more children will be lost. Not in our lifetime at least.”

The doctor that had given me the water looked at me with 

sympathy. What? Did I really look that much older than I really 

was? 

“Look, Mr. and Mrs. Bishop we know who you are. And we are 

grateful that you saved this world, but I don’t advise the two of you 

go outside right now. You could die of heat stroke.”

Peter and I had been fighting to save our decaying universe. But 

even with the tear in the other universe sealed and the shape shifters 

gone, things had fallen apart. The land had dried up and most of the 

lakes and rivers had disappeared. But I didn’t believe that all the 

water had disappeared, because Peter and I had dug under the 

parched cracked ground and found water. This was the only way we 

could find water. But there were certain places I’d heard in Boston 

that had their own private water reserves. 

“With all due respect doctor...?”

I didn’t recognize him at first, but now I remember. He’d helped me 

deliver Adán. So many years ago. 

“Hastens. Olivia. It’s been years. We’d thought you and Peter had 

passed away long ago. Glad to see some familiar faces.”

I wondered how Doctor Hastens remembered me. He wasn’t the 

handsome promising young doctor I remembered, but he was still the 

man who had delivered my son. More memories came flooding 

back, bringing back the day Adán flew away. 

“Even after all these years, I still remember my son Adán’s cries. 

Why couldn’t you save him? Why?”

But I’d already known the answer to that question. Even though it 

was one I’d asked many times, I knew it could never be answered. 

We all looked around when we heard water trickling from 

somewhere. Turning my eyes skyward, where the part of the roof 

was now missing from where the wood had rotted out long ago, I 

found water. Peter was the first to speak.

“Water? But where’s it coming from?”

As more water came down from the rotted boards in the roof, we 

realized that it could only be one thing. I let some fall onto my 

tongue.

“Peter! It’s rain! Real rain water! But how can that be? There 

wasn’t a cloud in the sky. There hasn’t been a cloud in the sky for 

the last 33 years!”

The rain continued to fall, but in big fat drops. The thunder and 

lightning came. But no one seemed to care. The rain was cool and 

refreshing. It tasted wonderful. A bucket was placed under the drips 

of water coming from the ceiling. 65 years old and seeing the world 

bloom again, was like watching each one of my children being born 

through Peter’s eyes. This was truly a miracle in itself. The rain was 

enough to invigorate Peter and I. My one thought though at the 

moment was: Would it ever snow again? 

To Be Continued...


	6. Rain and Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Fringe characters. But I do own some original ones.

December 20th, 2048

It’s been raining endlessly since November 8th. The ground has 

almost become a river. Peter had fixed up the roof and managed to 

get the insulation to work in the attic. So the house was staying 

warmer than it has been. With only five days left until Christmas we 

have little funds in which to get the children presents. The 

grandchildren are who I want to find presents for, I could always 

make them something. Mom had taught me how to sew well, and 

since we didn’t have a sewing machine, I did everything by hand. I 

knew just the thing to make for little Olive, a pink blanket with her 

name on it. I’d use what little purple thread I had left. The sound of 

Olive’s crying rang throughout the house, Katie, my oldest 

granddaughter, whose 10 came from the kitchen and looked at me 

annoyed.

“Grandma! Can’t you make Olive stop crying! I’m trying to read!”

I looked up at Katie and frowned at her. Finding my sewing needle 

and knitting needles, I went about finding my pink yarn and my 

purple thread. 

“Well, with the attitude you are having right now, looks like you’ll 

only be getting coal for Christmas, and believe me, there’s plenty 

more where that came from. So I’d start behaving more if I were 

you Katie Marie.”

Katie closed her mouth and walked back into the kitchen. From the 

corner of my eye I could see her open her book back up. A Little 

Princess. I’d read that same copy of that book to Lily when she was 

six. Of course my Lily was grown up now, and Hallie was her 

daughter. Katie is Emily’s little girl. My grandchildren were my 

family. I put down my sewing when Olive continued to cry. I made 

my way up the stairs and into the guest room. Her little form was 

flailing in Ella’s arms. 

“Aunt Liv, she won’t stop crying. I think she has Colic. I’m going to 

try and feed her again. She is hungry, because those are her hungry 

cries.”

Peter came into the room and frowned a little. He carefully took 

Olive from Ella’s arms and rocked her a little. Her tiny hands rubbed 

at her eyes. Soon her cries were nothing but whimpers. Her eyes 

were closing and she snuggled into Peter’s arms.

“I guess she just wanted to be with grandpa.”

Peter waited a few more minutes until Olive was sound asleep before 

placing her back in her basinet next to the bed. Ella looked more 

exhausted than I remembered. 

“Get some rest while you can baby girl. When she’s sleeping is the 

only time for the next 3 years.”

Ella had a long journey ahead of her with this little one. But she had 

her husband Eric to help her out with that. He was very good to her; 

he even waited on her every want and need. I slowly descended the 

stairs along with Peter hand in hand. We both found Katie still in the 

kitchen with her book in hand. She squinted in the light. 

“Looks like you might need glasses sweetheart.”

Katie shook her head no at me and continued to squint as she read. 

Emily walked into the room right then and smiled at me.

“Mom, I overheard you talking from the living room. I completely 

agree with you, I think Katie does need glasses. Even at home, with 

the light she keeps squinting her eyes to try and see the page from 

her book better.”

Peter and I got closer to Katie and looked at her eyes. The light in 

the kitchen wasn’t all that great, so Peter pulled out Walter’s old pen 

light and shined it in her eyes. She didn’t squint at the light, which 

made me very nervous. 

“Sweetheart, what do you see when Grandpa Peter shines the light 

in your eyes?”

Katie’s face went slack pale as Peter shined the light in her eyes 

once more. She swallowed hard.

“Grandma, all I see is shadows... That’s why I have the book so 

close to my eyes so that I can see it better, but I just see more 

shadows. All of you are just outlines; I can’t really tell who I’m 

looking at.”

Emily parted both Peter and I and stood in front of Katie. Katie was 

crying now and my gut began to twist with anxiety. I hadn’t felt that 

in years. Then I heard Katie say the words I’d never wanted to hear.

 

“Mommy, why can’t I see you?”

Emily pulled Katie into her arms for a hug. Katie didn’t have any 

intentions of letting go of her mother. I reached a hand up to Katie’s 

face and stroked it momentarily. 

“Everything will be alright sweetheart. Let’s just see what the doctor 

says first ok?”

Katie nodded her head following the sound of my voice. Things 

weren’t quite going as I had hoped. Hope came in the form of rain, 

but with Katie, things weren’t going so well for her. Emily pulled 

away from Katie and looked her in the eyes.

“Katie sweetie, how long have you had this?”

Katie followed the direction of her mother’s voice. Peter and I sat 

down at the kitchen table when Katie did. 

“A couple of weeks. I just woke up one morning. I thought it was 

just cause I hadn’t gotten enough sleep. At first things were just 

really blurry, and I didn’t think anything of it...”

If we were going into Boston, we’d have to have some sort of boat 

to get there, no way a car could get through these waters...

To Be Continued...


	7. A time to share happiness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do not own any of the Fringe characters. But I do own some original ones.

December 23rd, 2048

 

"Grandma, when is it going to stop raining? I can hear it, it's very loud."

 

I looked at Katie and smiled, I was braiding her hair because she'd asked me to.

 

"Well we don't know sweetheart. But the ground has been dry for so long and it's so thirsty, it's drinking up all the water it can get. How are you doing? You

 

haven't really said anything since we got back from the doctor's."

 

I was worried about Katie. She hadn't been real vocal even when we were at the eye doctor. Her eye sight is almost completely gone... Emily told me that

 

the doctor when Katie was a baby told her that there was something wrong with her eyes. But they weren't entirely sure what it was... All he said was that

 

one day she might lose her eye sight. That it was probable. Katie began to cry and I stopped braiding her hair momentarily.

 

"Grandma, when am I going to be able to see again? Can't they fix it?"

 

Shaking my head, I remembered the conversation that her eye doctor had with me and Emily earlier today:

 

"From what I can tell, Katie has been going down this path for years. It was a gradual onset thing. I'd recommend surgery to help bring her sight back, but because

 

of the way her eyes are shaped, it would do more damage than good. Cataracts in a child are rare, but with the way things are now, I've been seeing more and more

 

children with the condition."

 

Breaking out of my reverie I pulled my chair in front of Katie and wiped the tears from her eyes. Kissing her forehead I went back to braiding her hair.

 

"Sweetheart, I know this is very hard, but the doctor's said that because of your eye shape they don't want to risk damage to your eyes. And yes, Cataracts

 

are 100% preventable, but it can't be removed."

 

I was finished braiding her hair and I saw her wrap her arms around my neck and hugged me. She was shaking. I wrapped her arms around me and hugged

 

her back.

 

"Hey, I know just what will make you feel better. How about some hot apple cider? And then grandma will tell you a story from when she was young. Would

 

you like that?"

 

Katie nodded her head as I helped her up from the chair in the kitchen and into the living room. I helped her lie down on the couch and covered her with the

 

blanket that had been from when we lived in Boston. It was the blanket that used to be on my old bed from my apartment from so long ago. I helped her sit

 

up so that she could take a drink of her apple cider.

 

"Thanks grandma, that's good. Nobody can make hot apple cider the way you do... Mama tries, but she can't get it just right."

 

I smiled and helped her lie down again. Sitting down in an arm chair across from her I picked up the knitting needles and the yarn, beginning to make Olive's

 

baby blanket.

 

"Which story would you like to hear Katie?"

 

Katie put her index finger up to her lips and thought about it for a moment. Then her face lit up.

 

"Tell me the one about mommy."

 

I smiled at Katie and kissed her forehead. Katie closed her eyes and listened as I began my story and began to knit Olive's blanket.

 

"Emily was me and Grandpa Peter's miracle. In every sense of the way. You see, grandpa Peter and I lost three children before your mom. It was a very sad

 

time for the both of us. Until one day we got news from the doctor that we were having a baby. Grandpa was so happy that he took me out to a restaurant

 

that used to sell wonderful Indian food and announced it to the whole world. I'd been embarrassed at the time, but I eventually got over it. Your great-

 

grandpa Walter, with the allowance the FBI gave him, he spent on buying all these clothes for her, even though at that point we didn't know if the baby was

 

a boy or a girl. The proudest day of my life was the day your mom was born. Oh, she came out of me screaming and wet, but I loved her. You'll know the

 

feeling when you're older"

 

Katie made a face at me and spoke up.

 

"Ew! Gross! Don't give me all the details about how mommy came out of you! I don't wanna hear that!"

 

I only chuckled at her and continued knitting.

 

"Well your lucky your not 13 yet. I'll tell you the whole story, and the real one when you turn 13. For now I'll just give you minor details. Your mother was

 

special. But she began showing signs of being sick two weeks after we brought her home. She had a high fever and cried and cried. Your grandpa and I did

 

everything we could to soothe her fever. It was two days before her fever finally broke. Then two weeks later, she was taken away from me. Kidnapped by

 

men only wanting to take her life. Your mama was found in a dumpster crying and screaming her lungs out in back of Boston General. She didn't have a

 

scratch on her. Now why anyone would want to throw a baby away is another thing..."

 

Emily walked into the room suddenly and gave me a shocked expression.

 

"MOTHER! Why would you tell a child something like that?"

 

I gave Emily a look I'd given her millions of times since her childhood. Smirking, I looked back down at the blanket I was making for little Olive.

 

"Oh hush! You know I wouldn't tell a child that. She needs to know what happened to the land. Now that it's getting better, we won't have to worry about

 

what's past."

 

Peter came into my line of vision and placed a chaste kiss to my lips. I hear Katie making gagging sounds from the couch.

 

"You know you have a room for that..."

 

Emily gave Katie a dark look, even though she knew she couldn't see her.

 

"Katie Marie, where are you getting all these ideas from?"

 

Katie shrugged her shoulders and sipped at her hot cider. I went back to squinting at the fabric that was becoming Olive's blanket. Peter's voice paused my

 

ministrations on the fabric in front of me.

 

"Well, I got everything patched up on the house. No more leaky roof. I managed to kick start the generator, so we have electricity for a little while. When this

 

rain finally stops, I'll go into the city and see if I can barter for another generator or two. There are people willing to part with it, so that they can eat too..."

 

I saw the look on Katie's face, it was one of worry.

 

"I'm so hungry grandpa. When are we going to get more food? More than just watered down cabbage soup? Can we get some potatoes? We haven't had

 

potatoes in a long time... Maybe some candied yams as well? Don't you know a guy who sells the stuff?"

 

I watched as Peter placed a kiss on Katie's forehead.

 

"Don't worry, I'll find some more food sweetheart. Grandpa just needs to wait for the rain to stop coming down in buckets. I'll see what I can do about the

 

candied yams. Desert only. Not for dinner ok?"

 

Katie's smile lit up the room. I hadn't seen that silly smile on her for a long time.

 

"Grandpa! You need to shave! Your face is all scratchy!"

 

Peter managed to pick up Katie and swing her in circles before placing her back on the couch. He groaned, letting a kink out of his back.

 

"I guess grace doesn't come with age. I'm not as young as I used to be. Nothing brightens my day more than a house filled with children's laughter. And your

 

grandma of course. She will always be my sweetheart sunflower. When you're ready Katie, I have something for you. I want to help you learn how to read.

 

Let your fingers do the exploring."

 

Katie looked in Peter's general direction. She started to cry.

 

"But grandpa! I already know how to read!"

 

Peter took a seat next to Katie and pulled her into his arms.

 

"Listen to me Katie Marie. I can teach you how to read with your fingers. There are whole books I can teach you to read with your fingers. Even the story

 

your reading right now. You know we all support you, don't you? Don't let this stop you from doing what you love sweetheart."

 

A watery smile spread across Katie's lips and she hugged Peter as if it were for dear life. She kissed him on the cheek.

 

"Thank you grandpa! Thank you! I promise I'll be a good student."

 

Peter gave her another hug and them spoke to her once more.

 

"It's getting late sweetheart. Tomorrow we start out with something simple. The ABC's."

 

I watched as Katie smiled at Peter. He was helping her accept the hand she was being dealt with. As I focused on my knitting in front of me, I noticed a

 

change in the noise outside. Then I realized, this was the night that the rain had finally stopped. Maybe we could begin to plant things again, make this

 

world plentiful with food. My grandchildren at least deserve that happiness, of being able to have full stomachs at night.

 

To Be Continued...


End file.
